Two Cypriot cooks, Greek Cypriot Maria Loukaidou and Turkish Cypriot Ferrari Yaltsuk, are included in a tribute
Ms. Loukaidou describes how she grew up hearing stories from her refugee mother about life before the Turkish invasion and how food at home was linked to these stories, "of an era before the conflict."
It refers to the nightmares and the mental trauma that had been inflicted on her for the Turkish Cypriots, until her first trip to her mother's parts in 2003. “When we found my grandmother's old house, strangers opened the door. We sat with them. It was the first time I met a Turkish Cypriot. They drank the same coffee as us, they had similar skin and a similar nose shape. I couldn't believe it was like us, "he said.
He then talks about how he met Ferrari Yaltsuk when they both started working at Home Café in the dead zone. He notes that the culture of both has much in common, although what bound them together was a common love of food.
He states that together they cook dolmadas, spit, kolokasi and that they have both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot customers.
He also describes how their families cried when they talked on the phone after Ferrari's grandmother sent Maria's parents a traditional food from the occupied territories.
"Sometimes customers come and ask for Turkish coffee, others ask for Greek coffee. Ferrari and I always laugh and tell them that it's exactly the same thing and that we call it Cypriot coffee here ", concludes Maria Loukaidou.
For her part, Ms. Yaltsuk commented that the location of the cafe she maintains with her Greek Cypriot counterpart is isolated and that is what makes it "a place for everyone".
She says both of her parents were born in the south, but left at a young age after the war. Like Maria Loukaidou, she and her parents visited their old homes and sat down for a coffee with today's tenants.
She also admits that she has not had contact with a Greek Cypriot in the past, but also that despite the different language, the experiences are almost the same, as is the food.
She notes that when she was a child, Greek Cypriots were presented as "monsters", but now her relationship with Maria "has proved that the tensions we may once have felt do not exist."
He admits that sometimes political debates cause embarrassment, but adds that they prefer to look to the future. "Cyprus will unite one day, but not because the leaders will sign a paper. It will be the communities that build these bridges. That's where we focus, "he said.
She refers to the common foods that she cooks with her colleague and concludes: “Sometimes the visitors who pass by ask us if we are in Turkey or in Greece. We are in Cyprus, I tell them, in the dead zone - neither in the south nor in the north. It is strange, some still think that the island belongs to Greece or Turkey. But it's not like that. It belongs to us. "
The British newspaper's tribute also includes a collaboration between a Palestinian and an Israeli chef, as well as a collaboration between a Colombian chef and a cook from the FARC guerrilla organization.